Healthcare plan in focus during chamber forum

Things have gotten substantially more complicated in the past year for business owners and managers who want to know about healthcare coverage.

Take a look, for instance, at the annual healthcare forums sponsored by the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce.

Last year, the several hundred participants in the forum discussed the factors that influenced health-care costs and discussed how employers could help control costs.

This year, the Reno Sparks Chamber expects that 300 or more will sign up for the forum as it focuses on effects of the health-care reform legislation under consideration by Congress.

The forum runs from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 at the Grand Sierra Resort. Lunch and a continental breakfast are included in the $20 admission; register at RenoSparksChamber.org/events.

Valerie Clark of Clark and Associates Insurance Services, chair of the chamber's Healthcare Task Force, says the forum is designed to help participants learn about reform packages and their possible effects on the private sector.

Among the subjects to be discussed, Clark says, are the cost of healthcare and access to services, how health insurance would be affected by proposed mandates, tax implications of healthcare reform for businesses and individuals and effects on Nevada from proposed legislation.

Scheduled speakers include:

* Dave Racer, a Minnesota author and publisher who has written three books on the U.S. health-care system.

* Jim Miller, the president and chief executive officer of Renown Health.

* Lloyd Dean, president and CEO of Catholic Healthcare West, the parent organization of Saint Mary's.

* Scott Kipper, commissioner of the Nevada Division of Insurance.

* Katie Strong Hays, executive director of the Congressional and Public Affairs Division of the U.S. Chamber.

* Mike Bosma, managing shareholder of The Bosma Group.

Exhibits from forum sponsors and registration will open at 7 a.m. the day of the forum.